One Woman's Pain, Another Man's Suffering
by New Decade
Summary: The one thing he hates more than living without her, is being unable to help her.


I'm so excited to be going Tennessee for three days, but I told myself I had to publish one fic before I did so, so this was written within the course of a few hours. I hope everyone likes it!

* * *

The pain coursed through her body, her breathing was painful and restricted. All she could remember was trying to catch-up with the fleeing suspect who had tried to make a quick getaway. The forty-something woman had been looking at herself in her rearview mirror as she turned the corner. Calleigh recalled the pain of the Escalade coming in contact with her and her feet temporarily leaving the ground before her entire body hit the blacktop, hearing Natalia screaming her name before everything went black.

She remembered waking up in the ambulance for at least a few seconds, but it was mostly a blur. She could only vaguely hear the voices of the paramedics working over her as she was poked and prodded, Natalia sitting on the bench, a worried look in her eyes. Calleigh wanted to tell her that she was okay and not to look so scared, but she blacked out before Natalia even noticed her eyes were open.

When she woke up again, she remembered her head was pounding, it felt as though someone was repeatedly throwing her head against a brick wall and that they were just a few blows from cracking her skull, had they not yet succeeded. Every muscle and bone in her body throbbed, painfully, most of the agony arising from her torso, her ribs and her leg. She could feel the presence of someone else in the room with her; she had yet to open her eyes to find out who it was.

"Eric?" Calleigh breathed, assuming he would be the only one in her room. Part of her didn't want to think about Eric seeing her like this bruised, weak and in pain, but the other needed him here, her own personal morphine.

"No," a soft, motherly, voice replied. "It's Alexx." Calleigh finally opened her eyes, she found herself staring up at a white ceiling and Alexx standing over her. "But, honey, Eric is on his way over, okay?"

* * *

Eric was driving as though his life depended on it, which, in many ways, it did. He didn't care if this wasn't dubbed as a "police emergency" and that his sirens and his lights shouldn't have been on; in his books this was an emergency and he had to get to the hospital as soon as possible. He weaved in and out of the numerous cars; the amount of cars on the causeway was only making the situation harder.

When Dade Memorial came into his line of sight, he let out a sigh of relief, though he couldn't say he would be fully relieved until he saw Calleigh and knew she was going to be okay. But seeing the building he had hated so much for years came into view and he felt an odd sensation of comfort, the closer he was to the hospital, the closer he was to Calleigh.

Eric parked the Hummer as close to the entrance as he could before storming through the doors. He jogged through the halls and into the ER, accidentally bumping into an old friend in the process.

"Eric," Alexx sighed, almost in relief.

"Alexx, where's Calleigh? Is she okay? How bad are her injuries?" Eric asked, all his words rushing together.

"Baby, baby, calm down," Alexx whispered, soothingly, putting her hands on his biceps. "Come sit down."

She led him towards a seat, taking a seat of her own across from him. Eric sat down and took a deep breath to calm his nerves, but it couldn't prevent his hands from shaking.

"Tell me what you already know and I'll fill you in," Alexx said, clearly trying to keep Eric was calm as possible.

"Natalia called and said Calleigh was hit by a car and, from what she could see, Calleigh was banged up badly."

Alexx nodded, Natalia had had to leave as soon as she got word that Eric was on his way over to make a statement about what happened, but her observation of saying Calleigh was 'banged up badly' was fairly accurate.

"Alexx, please, tell me if she is okay," Eric whispered, his voice on the edge of breaking.

She rolled her lips and looked at Eric in the eye. "Her leg is broken, she has two fractured ribs and one that is broken. Her arms were scratched up from when she hit the pavement and many of the gashes had to be stitched. She hit her head hard enough to cause severe bruising and for her to lose consciousness-."

"Does she have any brain damage?" Eric asked, anxiously.

"Well, we are testing for brain damage as well as internal organ damage. But her pupils have been responding to light, she is speaking coherently-."

"Speaking? So she is awake?"

"Yeah," Alexx replied, her voice sad. "She's not feeling so great, though, I don't know anyone who was hit by a car who is, but she isn't accepting pain medication."

"Yeah, that's Calleigh," Eric sighed, shaking his head at her stubbornness. "Is she up for visitors?"

For the first time since he came into the ER, Alexx smiled.

"She is up for a _visitor_," she said, giving Eric a meaningful look as they got to their feet. "She's been asking for you. Come on, I'll take you to her."

* * *

Eric stepped into her hospital room, taken aback by the sight before him, though he didn't show it. Calleigh's leg was in a cast and stuck out from her bed sheets, her chest was rising and falling with what appeared to be painful motions from the ribs that had to be taped, most of arms had been covered in white gauze to cover numerous stitches and gashes. The side of her face looked the most painful, most of her forehead, her temple and the top of her cheekbone had been severely bruised, the edges of the damaged skin were purple, perfectly framing the darker skin within.

"Hey," Calleigh smiled at Eric when she saw him, her cheery voice trying to mask the pain she had to have been feeling.

He was unable to resist smiling back at her and his feet automatically began to move his body to her bed. As Eric came closer, Calleigh tried to subtly move some of her blonde hair in front of her face to conceal the dark, ugly, bruises from him. But no sooner was the curtain of gold hiding half of her face, Eric reached up to tuck the strands back behind her ear. His fingertips gently brushed over the black and purple smudges of her skin, giving her a warm smile before he sat down on the bed to face her.

"Hey, beautiful," he whispered, a statement she rolled her eyes at as he gave her lips a gentle kiss. The feel of his lips against hers was enough to numb her pain for a few precious moments.

"How are you feeling?" Eric asked, leaning out of the kiss to look at her.

Calleigh laughed, lightly, wincing because of her ribs.

"Great," she breathed, sinking into her pillows. Her bluff made Eric sigh, heavily, in slight frustration; Calleigh wasn't made of steel, though she did manage to maintain that image most of the time, and it all but killed him to see her downplaying all her pain. He reached over to take her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"You almost gave me a heart attack," Eric admitted.

"Sorry," Calleigh grinned, guiltily. "You know I have a habit of doing that. But I'm trying to break it."

"Good," he nodded, looking at their hands, his thumb mindlessly drawing circles on the back of her hand. "I don't know what I would have done if-."

"Hey," Calleigh gently interrupted him, catching his eye. "I'm fine now—well, I will be, so don't go tormenting yourself."

Don't go tormenting himself? How couldn't he? He could he not appreciate the fact she had, once again, looked death in the eye and lived? The fear in his heart he had in his heart wasn't something he was going to take lightly or forget.

"Do you need anything?"

Calleigh began to shake her head, but halted instantly, the slightest motion caused her head an enormous amount of pain; Eric noticed.

"Are you okay?" he asked, anxiously.

"Yeah," Calleigh sighed, making a conscious effort not to nod. "On the plus side, I may be getting out of here soon. They're just running tests to check for any internal organ or brain damage."

"I know, Alexx told me. She also told me that you won't accept pain medication," he whispered.

"I don't need it," Calleigh insisted.

"Cal-."

"Eric, I'm f-." Calleigh broke off when she tried to sit up, her body disagreeing with her action and sending a shock of pain through her. Her face turned pale and she clenched her teeth as she slowly lowered herself back into the pillows.

"Easy, easy," Eric whispered, soothingly, himself hurting to see her like this. He reached up to gently stroke her hair and she felt immense comfort just by the sound of his voice and the touch of his hand; Eric merely being there beside her was enough for Calleigh. But for Eric, however, seeing Calleigh in so much pain, it wasn't enough for him to be there as a minor distraction. He wanted Calleigh to feel physical relief to elude the pain a mindless driver had bestowed upon her.

"I am fine," Calleigh promised with a weak grin.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's nothing I can't handle."

Eric half sighed, half chuckled, as he looked at Calleigh. She had constantly put her life on the line for her job and it didn't seem right to Eric she still willed herself to suffer, despite her bravery. She could try to cover the pain all she wanted, but Eric saw through her act. He had been getting better at that, reading Calleigh. She'd be the first to agree that Eric knew her better than anyone else did, that he was the only one who was had been able to decipher her complicated text. And what he was reading from her now was she was putting on a smile and portraying a brave front, one he was certain she would maintain even if no one relied on her to be strong.

"You don't always have to be so brave, Cal," he breathed, his knuckles gently stroking her cheek. "You don't have to hide from anyone, especially me and you know that."

"I know," Calleigh sighed, she knew she didn't have to hide from Eric, in fact, she had started going to him and being more open as of late. However this wasn't a matter of concealing her pain from Eric, but Calleigh Duquesne doing what she was raised to do: rough it. "But I still don't need any meds."

"Babe-."

"Eric, trust me, I'm fine."

He saw the will and determination in her eyes, he also saw how tired she was and that trying to convince her into the medication wasn't the best thing for her at this moment. Eric sighed and nodded in defeat.

"I trust you," he said. "But don't be afraid to change your mind."

"Okay, I'll let you know," Calleigh promised. She made the mistake of attempting to readjust her head on the pillows. Even her head touching a feather soft pillow was enough to make her cringe; moving her head at all seemed to have that ghastly effect. She felt as though her head may as well have taken a blow from a sledge hammer, she pressed her lips together as she took in a sharp breath through her nose, feeling the blood rush out of her face. This only triggered Eric's over protectiveness even more, another wince of pain she endured was another scar on his heart.

"Cal, are you sure that you don't want-."

"Eric," Calleigh cut across him, her tone a bit hard as a result of frustration and her recent round of pain. "I have been through worse, I'm going to be fine. Please, stop worrying. I promise that I look worse than I feel."

He felt an automatic sense of guilt rush through his veins, he had come to give her comfort and only offering stress in its place. He knew Calleigh well enough to know just how stubborn she was and that, once her mind was made up, there was only a one in a million chance of getting her to change it.

"I'm sorry," Eric whispered. "I just hate seeing you-."

"Shh," Calleigh hushed him, tenderly, her tone kinder than before. "I get it." She reached up to place her hand on his cheek, her thumb smoothing over the stubble of his cheek. Calleigh saw that on the surface of his brown eyes held concern for her, but deeper in his irises was an intense pain that couldn't be created by anything physical. He wanted her to be out of pain, the same thing she had wanted for him on all the occasions that he was put into the hospital. She hadseen him in pain and she too had experienced the same hurt and sickening feeling she had felt when she saw him in a hospital bed, she remembered the longing to do something, anything, to give the person she loved peace. Calleigh knew, with every fiber in her body, that Eric wanted the same for her now.

"By the way, thanks for coming," she added.

Eric chuckled, taking the hand resting against his face, pulling her hand to his lips to kiss her palm.

"Of course," he said as she lowered her hand, giving him a warm smile as the door opened and Alexx walked in.

"How are the results?" Eric asked, instantly.

Alexx chuckled in amusement as she came to stand beside Calleigh's bed.

"At least your not too anxious," she joked before turning to Calleigh. "The good news is your bones are all going to heal nicely and you don't have any internal organ damage."

"So what's the bad news?" Calleigh questioned.

"You have a minor concussion," Alexx sighed. "It is of the utmost importance that you rest and, seeing as the first forty-eight hours of rest are crucial for the healing process, we want to keep you here for that long."

Calleigh pulled a face at that news, but Eric was relieved, she was going to make a full recovery.

"You were very lucky, baby," Alexx smiled, shaking her head at Calleigh's luck. "Next time, look both ways before crossing."

"Will do," she promised; Alexx rolled her eyes.

"Get some rest, hit the nurses' button if you need anything, okay? No sugarcoating, Calleigh," Alexx ordered before she left the room; she had always loved getting the last word.

Eric smiled down at Calleigh, squeezing her hand. She looked up at him and grinned back, her facial features tired.

"We should make a pact," Calleigh suggested. "After today, no more visits to the ER for either of us. Deal?"

Eric laughed, lightly, and nodded. "Deal. But we need to get you out of here before that pact can start. So, for now, you get a goodnight's rest…you deserve it."

Calleigh smiled at him and whispered a light "okay" before letting her heavy eyes close.

"I'll be here when you wake up," he promised.

"I know," she mumbled, tiredly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied as her body relaxed and she fell into a deep slumber. "More than you'll ever know."


End file.
